By Due Process
by Z98
Summary: Approximately four years after SG1 first encountered the Aschen, the Confederation is back and they intend to make Earth pay for what they did to the Aschen homeworld. Now SG1 and the rest of mankind must stand trial for genocide before an intergalactic


I don't own Stargate.

The idea for this actually came from an abandoned SG-1 episode idea. It intrigued me greatly and I decided to see if I could make it work. As this is my first time writing an SG-1 fanfic, I still don't have a good style down yet.

By Due Process

Prologue: A Trial by Any Other Name

"Cameron!"

Colonel Cameron Mitchell stopped and allowed his friend to catch up before resuming his stride.

"Daniel."

Handing a few packets to Mitchell, Dr. Daniel Jackson flipped through one he kept as they walked down the corridor.

"So what exactly is this about?" Cameron asked. "Don't tell me the Ori are trying to build another Supergate."

"Funny," Daniel replied. "No, those are updates on the number of Priors that our offworld teams have encountered. Now it's starting to look like a lot of the old Goa'uld worlds are falling for them, though the Free Jaffa are a different story entirely."

Cameron dropped his head slightly and sighed. "Were things ever this complicated back when you were part of SG-1?"

"Well technically I'm still part of SG-1, considering I missed the-"

A flash of light interrupted Daniel and the next moment Cameron was standing by himself. He looked back and forth frantically, glancing at the other soldiers around.

"Did all of you just see that?"

Onboard the Asgard vessel, three figures appeared, each seemingly in the middle of something.

"Daedalus," Daniel finished.

He looked around, noticing the change of environment as well as the others. The other two who had been brought up were just as confused.

"Jack?"

"Daniel?"

"Sam?"

"Daniel?"

"Didn't they start giving us a little warning before they beamed us up?" Jack said.

Looking around again, the three former members of SG-1 finally saw the Asgard responsible.

"Uh, do we know you?" Jack asked, seeing as it wasn't Thor.

"Freyr!" Sam said a second later.

Jack gave his former teammate a look as she simply shrugged.

"Colonel Carter, General O'Neill, Dr. Jackson. I have brought you here today for a very important matter."

"Well I was kind of in a meeting with the joint chiefs," Jack said. "You could have given us a little warning."

Ignoring Jack's comment, Freyr continued. "As former members of SG-1, all of you were involved with an incident that took place in your year of 2001."

The three exchanged looks but no one had any idea which incident the Asgard was referring to.

"A lot of things happened that year," said Daniel.

"Yes, a lot," Jack put in.

After giving his friend a look, Daniel went on. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"The humans of Earth have been charged with genocide," Freyr said bluntly.

All three humans gave Freyr a surprised look but remained speechless.

"As you three were involved in the incident, you will act as humanity's defense."

"Uh, hold it right there," Jack interrupted. "What the hell are you talking about? Since when did we ever commit genocide? Huh? C'mon guys, help me here."

"Are you not the ones who supplied the Aschen with a gate address to a black hole?" Freyr asked calmly.

Upon hearing the name, Jack gave Freyr an incredulous look.

"What?" he exclaimed. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

"The Aschen tried to launch a bio-weapon against Earth," Sam explained. "And before that, they were trying to trick us into joining their Confederation."

"In which they would have slowly decimated Earth's population and turned it into a farm world," Daniel finished.

The Asgard glanced at all of them but didn't seem impressed. "Be that as it may, the Aschen have brought the charges against you and they must be addressed."

"How?" Daniel asked.

"A board of arbiters will be assembled and both sides will be allowed to present their case. At the end the Arbiters will submit their decision, which is binding."

"What do you mean by binding?" Sam asked.

"If the Arbiters finds Earth guilty of genocide, measures will be taken to ensure you can no longer cause such incidents to occur. In all likelihood, your Stargate will be removed and we the Asgard will require the return of the hyperdrive engines on your vessels."

"But we're in the middle of a crucial transition in the galaxy right now," Daniel protested. "With the Ori trying to make a move, if we aren't out there, they may just replace the Goa'uld."

"At the moment it matters not whether you have such technology or not," said Freyr. "If humanity is to confront the Ori as equals, it will depend as much on your morality as your technological advancement."

"So why have the Aschen waited so long to bring this up?" Sam asked.

"Both sides will present their case at the session," Freyr repeated. "I will now return you to your respective locations. To whom should I give the specific protocols?"

"Uh, I guess that'll be me," said Daniel. "But just a question. When is this trial thing supposed to start?"

"In two weeks."

With that the three disappeared in a flash of light and the Asgard vessel left. As Daniel reappeared next to Cameron, the colonel spun around.

"Hey! Where'd you go?"

Daniel examined the laptop that is now in his hand and frowned.

"Uh, I need to speak with General Landry. Right now."

Without another word Daniel rushed through the halls with Cameron close behind. As the two entered Landry's office, the general was already on the phone.

"Yes Jack, he just walked in. What? What do you mean suspend all operations? Look Jack, you're going to have to give me a reason for this."

"General, I can explain," Daniel said, interrupting the call.

After a few seconds looking at Daniel, Landry nodded. "Yeah Jack, Daniel said he'll explain. But you'll still need to get the president to sign off on this. Okay."

As Landry hung up the phone, he gave the two men in his office a curious look. After sitting down, he gestured.

"Well, go ahead. Explain."

"I was just beamed up by the Asgard," Daniel began. "Apparently we humans from Earth are being put on trial for genocide. The people accusing us are the Aschen."

"The people that tried to take over Earth," Cameron stated.

"Yes. Now apparently they dialed the gate address to that black hole and, well, something must have happened. Otherwise they wouldn't be this mad."

"Wait, didn't they launch a bio-weapon at us?" Cameron asked.

"Yes."

"So why are they accusing us?" Landry said. "It seems more like we should be the ones taking them to court."

"We didn't even know about this system," Daniel replied. "But apparently if we're proven guilty, we lose our Stargate and all of our hyperdrive engines."

"What?" both Cameron and Landry exclaimed.

Daniel grimaced. "Which is probably why Jack told you to suspend operations. It wouldn't be a good thing if our offworld teams get stranded."

"So when is this trial?" Landry asked.

"Two weeks. And we need to spend that time getting a better understanding of what exactly is going to happen," Daniel said, holding up the laptop.

Landry nodded and looked over to Cameron. "I presume you'll want to help Dr. Jackson."

"Well. I'd like to stick around here long enough to get a team going," Cameron said with a grin.

It wasn't long before Daniel was sitting in front of the laptop, reading through some of the articles. Copies of the protocols had already been copied to several other computers though Cameron was having trouble reading through all of it.

"So you get anything out of this?" Cameron asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Uh, just a basic idea, really. Apparently this is a mediatory panel that settles disputes on a galactic scale. Only certain races have the right to appeal to this panel and it's like a last resort thing."

"So why are the Aschen on this list?"

"That's a good question," Daniel muttered.

Before he could say any more the phone rang and Cameron picked it up.

"Yeah?" he said and paused before handing it to Daniel. "It's Colonel Carter."

Without looking Daniel took the phone. "Hey Sam. You get the files?"

"Yeah, though I still don't know why we're being put on trial."

"If you're referring to why the Aschen could accuse us after they've conquered so many worlds, your guess is as good as mine. But listen, did you get down to the part about evidence?"

"That's what I was going to talk about," Sam replied. "It won't take long to compile the mission reports and I can get the note about P4C-970."

"Okay. That leaves those old newspapers, which I still have," said Daniel. "What else?"

"I guess ourselves. Doesn't this trial allow witnesses?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet," Daniel admitted. "I'm still trying to figure out why the Aschen can even bring this up. What has Jack said about this?"

"Nothing really. Look, I'm going to take a look at more of the evidence protocols. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, bye."

"So?" Cameron asked.

"Huh? So?"

"Do you think Teal'c could help with this?"

Daniel leaned back and shook his head. "I don't see now. Besides, only me, Jack, and Sam were beamed up. I think because Teal'c is a Jaffa, he isn't included in this."

"By the way, from what I've read from the mission report, these Aschen are pretty powerful, right?"

"Yeah."

As he squeezed a stress ball, Cameron scrolled down a few pages, randomly browsing. He glanced at the files but they still failed to hold his attention.

"So why would they need to take us to court anyways?" he asked. "They have our gate address, and even with the iris I'm sure they could figure out a way to hit us back."

"The Aschen probably thought their bio-weapon did the trick," Daniel replied. "Though it does raise the question of how did they find out we were still around."

"You guys have been getting around lately," Cameron commented. "Defeating the Goa'uld, then the Replicators. News probably traveled fast."

Daniel glanced back and watched as the colonel rolled the ball between his hands on the table.

"What?"

"Nothing," said Daniel. "It's just that you do make a good point. The Aschen have ships and that's how they encountered some of the worlds in their Confederation. So why haven't they used them to come to Earth?"

"So this trial has to have some kind of advantage for them," Cameron stated. "You think we can get out of this?"

"Well, there is some good news. The arbiters for this trial will include an Asgard and a Nox, as well as a representative from some other race not yet named. We're good friends with both and that should help us."

"Let's hope so," Cameron said as he checked his watch. "Briefing is in five minutes, Daniel."

"I know," Daniel replied, somewhat distracted. "It's just that, I really don't know what to make of this."

"Didn't you guys have to take part in this alien trial before? This, Triad?"

"Yeah, it was a Tollan thing to free an old friend. But this is a bit more complicated, and there's a lot more at stake here."

After paging through a few more things Daniel closed the laptop and walked with Cameron to the briefing room. General Landry was already present and waiting and Cameron sat down across from him.

"So you had a little chat with an Asgard, and he said we were in trouble," Landry commented. "Let's hear how bad it is."

Daniel set down the laptop and popped it open. "Now I've only had the chance to go over the basics, but I think I have a general idea of how this will work."

"Then let's hear it."

"It's really similar to any trial that we have here on Earth. The accuser files their grievances and the accused have to defend themselves. Now a major difference is that instead of a jury deciding the verdict, it's the panel of Arbiters."

"Do we know who these arbiters are?" Landry asked.

"An Asgard, a Nox, and someone we don't know," Cameron answered that one.

"Right," Daniel continued. "The problem is we don't know who the third Arbiter is. But anyways, as far as procedures go, it's actually quite simple. Both sides are allowed to bring forth evidence to support their claim. Each side is given the opportunity to present their evidence first, and then both sides are allowed a rebuttal. After that is kind of a cross-examination session where we can ask the Aschen question and they can do the same to us. The conclusion is a cross-examination by the panel, them asking both us and the Aschen questions."

"Do we have any idea what kind of evidence the Aschen will bring against us?" Landry asked.

"None whatsoever," said Daniel. "This trial is set up so that neither side has to show all their cards at once."

"So all we need is an ace up our sleeve," Cameron suggested.

"But we don't know what the Aschen have for theirs," Daniel reminded them. He pushed his glasses up and frowned. "Look, we're really treading in unknown waters here. The stakes are similar to treaty negotiations General O'Neill conducted with the Goa'uld several years ago. But this time, even with our allies sitting on the panel, we're kind of on our own."

"So you, Colonel Carter, and General O'Neill will act as the defense for Earth," said Landry.

Daniel nodded. "That's what it's looking like."

Landry stood and patted Daniel on his shoulder. "Then for the sake of our future, good luck, Dr. Jackson. What will you need?"

"Well, a team of legal specialists would definitely help," said Daniel. "Too bad Dr. Weir is at Atlantis, otherwise she'd be a lot of help."

"I'll have them here tomorrow."

"So anything I could help with?" Cameron asked.

"Colonel, I'll need you right here," said Landry. "If what Dr. Jackson says is true and we will lose the Stargate as well as our hyperdrives, we need to figure out a way to preserve what we've accomplished as well as still be able to defend against the Ori."

"Yes sir."

Their missions determined, each man went about their respective tasks. By the next day legal experts had flown in and began pouring over the protocols. By then Daniel had pulled out the old newspapers from the Volian homeworld to begin a more thorough translation. It didn't take long for Sam to show up as well. The two weeks passed quickly as the SGC gathered as much evidence as possible. By the time the day came, there was a firmer grasp of what they were about to deal with.

"We'll be able to stay in contact with Earth for the duration of the trial, meaning we can update each other," Daniel said as they walked to the Stargate. "Even then, there isn't actually a limit as to how many people can be present on the defense team."

"Which is why we're bringing advisors," Sam added.

"This is something of a unique situation," said Daniel. "Besides, we could use all the help we can get. Now even though we don't know the location where this trial will take place, it is supposed to be neutral territory."

"Cameron is supposed to be reporting to the Alpha Site after we leave," said Sam. "But what worries me is whether we'll even be able to keep that."

"Let's hope it doesn't have to come to that."

"Dr. Jackson, here you go," one of the law experts said, handing Daniel a folder.

"Thanks Hanna. Let's see, we've got five minutes before we're supposed to be in front of the Stargate."

"Then let's make sure we have everything," Sam said.

As the two entered the gateroom the door on the opposite opened, revealing General O'Neill.

"Hey kids. So are we ready?" he asked.

"More or less," said Sam.

Five other men and women stood with them as well as several cases.

"Good luck," Landry said as the light consumed everything in front of the Gate.

"Thanks Hank," a voice echoed.

End of Prologue

This is most certainly not the best thing I've ever done, but it is a start of the story. It's also a slight test for me writing Stargate, as since it's a TV show it's somewhat difficult to write cleanly for. I don't know if anyone else has ever written something like this, but I'm trying my hand at it. Now we'll just have to see how it works out. Maybe we'll all learn a bit more about the Aschen later on.

Z98


End file.
